Car-feeding apparatus



-0Ct. 29, 1 929. JOHNSON 1,733,265

CAR FEEDING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 28. 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR 71929. G. M. JOHNSON CAR FEEDING APPARATUS Get;

Filed Jan. 28. 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 GAR FEEDING APPARATUS Filed Jan.28. 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 G. M. JOHNSON ,733,265

CAR FEEDING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 28. 1928 Oct. 29, 1929.

. Sheets-Sheet 4 V Ill Ill/ll Ill/Ill ///l ILA T 1 Oct. 29, 1929. G. M.JOHNSON 1,733,265

CAR FEEDING APPARATUS '3 //f l 1 1 1 I I Patented Oct. 29, 1929 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE GEORGE M. JOHNSON, OF JEANNETTE, PENNSYLVANLA,ASSIGNOR TO FORT PITT MINE EQUIPMENT COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH,PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA CAR-FEEDING APPARATUSApplication filed January 28, 1928. Serial No. 250,156.

My invention relates to apparatus for feeding cars, and moreparticularly to apparatus that is especially suited for the caging ofmine cars; that is the loading of cars from 5 landings in mine shafts tocages or elevators.

It will be understood however, that the invention is capable of use invarious other relations.

One object of my invention is to provide an improved form of loadingdevice that is particularly adapted for use in connection with mineshafts having a pair of cages one of which ascends simultaneously withthe descent of the other cage.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved form of carreleasing means for each of the cages, which are so inter-connected thatone cage in operating car stop horns for releasing cars to permit themto roll upon such cage, Will simultaneously operate certain of the carreleasing mechanisms of the tracks over which cars are supplied to theother cage.

Another object ofmy invention is to pro- M vide stop mechanism soarranged that upon movement of a cage to car-receiving position, onlyone car of a designated number of cars will be released even though thecage be moved up and down a plurality of times while at such position.

Still another object of my invention is to provide car feeding mechanismfor each of a pair of associated cages of such form that only one car,or a predetermined number of cars, can be released to one cage untilafter such cage leaves car-releasing position and has returned fromcar-discharging position, the associated arm meantime having moved tothe car-receiving and discharging positions.

9 A further object of my invention is to provide car stop operatingmechanism of such form that danger of accidents through improperreleasing of cars is more effectively avoided than in the case ofcertain mechanisms of the prior art.

Still anotherobject of my invention is to provide car releasingmechanism of such character that operation thereof is effected by a cageduring the approach of such cage to 0 car-receiving position, so thatwhen the cage shall have reached the landing or car-receiving position,a car will have had time to advance toward the cage under the action ofgravity, thus avoiding the loss of time which would result if the carreleasing mechanism was not actuated until the cage was substantially atcar-receiving position, and operations had to be suspended until the carhad gradually acquired sufiicient momentum to carry it onto the cage.

Some of the forms which my invention may take are shown in theaccompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a plan View of two tramways orpairs of tracks having interconnected car feeding mechanisms; Fig. 2 isa view taken on the line IIII of Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale; Fig. 8 isan enlarged view taken on the line III-III of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a planView showing one form of apparatus whereby the mechanisms of Fig. 1 maybe actuated by mine cagesprevious to the arrival of such cages at theircar-receiving positions; Fig. 5 is an elevational view of the apparatusof Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a view taken on the line VIVI of Fig. 4, and Fig. 7is a view similar to Fig. 5, but showing a modified form of apparatus.

Referring now to Figs. 1 to 3, I show pairs of tracks 10 and 11 that arepreferably slightly inclined so that cars will normally roll thereonunder the action of gravity in the direction of the arrows, towardlandings or loading platforms 12 and 18 respectively.

Associated with the track 10 are pairs of stop horns 14c and 15. Thehorns 14 have connection with rods. 16 which are slidably mounted inblocks 17 that are rigidly positioned. Cushioning springs 18 areinterposed between the nuts or heads of the rods 16 and the adjacentfaces of the blocks 17, so that when the wheels of a car move intoengagement with the horns 1 1, the movement of the car will be yieldablychecked by compression of the springs 18. The horns 14 have ex tensionsor tail pieces 19, each of which is pivotally connected to the inner endof a link 21, the outer ends of such links having pivotal connectionwith the ends of a crank 22 that is pivotally mounted on a rock shaft 23and operated by a link 30. It will be seen that as the link 30 is movedback and forth, the horns 14: will be swung to and from position overthe rail, to alternately engage and release the wheels of cars thattravel on the tracks 10.

The horns 15 are mounted upon rods 24: that are supported and cushionedas are the rods 16, or as shown in my Patent No. 1,372,- 753, of March29, 1921, for example. The horns 15 have extensions 25 that areconnected, through links 26, to the ends of a crank 27 that is securedto the rock shaft Then the shaft 23, as viewed in Fig. 2 is turned in aclockwise direction, the upper and lower links 21 will be moved to theright and the left respectively to swing the horns ilel from theirinclined positions to upright position for engagement with car wheels.During this movement, the links 26 will be drawn inward, causing thehorns 15 to be swung outward to car-releasing position.

The shaft 23 is provided with a crank 28 that extends beyond the end ofthe landing 12, in position to be engaged by a descending mine cage andoperation of the horns 15 and 3 1 thereby effected. A weighted lever 29is connected to the shaft 23, so that when the crank 28 is released asupon upward movement of a mine cage out of engagement therewith, theweight will rock the shaft 23 in a counter-clockwise direction, thusmoving the stop horns 15 to operative position.

Referring to the car-releasing mechanism associated with the landing 13,stop horns 3i and 35 are mounted, and are connected to a rock shaft 36,in substantially the same manner as are the stop horns 141 and 15. Therock shaft 36 is provided with a crank 37 in p0,.- tion to be engaged bya mine cage, and with a counter-weighted arm 38. The tail pieces 39 ofhorns 3 1 are connected through links 11 with the ends of a lever li.that is pivotally mounted upon the shaft 36. A link 13 is connected atone end to the lever -12 and its other end is connected to a crank eelthat is rigidly secured to the rock shaft 23. The link 30, whose one endis connected to the crank 22, is connected to the crank 15 that issecured to the rock shaft 36.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that when a mine cage has descendedand moved the crank 37 to the position shown in F 1 and 3, the horns 35will be rocked to release position, as shown, to permit a car to rollfrom the tracks 11 to the mine cage. Simultaneously, the link will bepulled to the right, thus rocking the crank 22 in a counterclockwisedirection, thereby pulling the links 21 inwardly and moving the stophorns 11 to their outer postions as shown in Figs 1 and 2. A car willthen be permitted to advance from such horns 1 1 into engagement withthe horns 15.

lVhen the cage moves upwardly out of engagement with the crank 37, theweighted arm 38 will rock the shaft 36 in the reverse direction causingthe horns to swung inward over the rails 11 and moving the link 30 tothe left, thus rocking the crank 22 in a clockwise direction (Fig. andreturning the horns 1 1 to wheel-engaging position.

During ascent of a cage from the landing 13, another cage will descenduntil it engages the crank 28, thereupon rocking said crank in aclockwise direction (Fig. 2) and swinging the horns 15 to releasedposition, thus allowing a car to roll to the cage. Simulta neously, thelink 13 will be drawn to the left and rock the lever 42 in a clockwisedirection to draw the links 11 inwardly and thereby swing the horns 34out, so that a car can pass to the horns which have been previouslymoved to car stop position by the weight 38 upon release of the crank87. When the cage ascends from the landing 12, the weighted arm 29 willrock the shaft 23 to return the horns 1?) to the position shown in Figs.1 and 2, and to return the horns 3 1 to their operative position, sothat both the horns 3i and of tracks 11 are in wheel-engaging position.

It will be seen that if a cage at landing 12, for evample, is moved upand down a number of times while adjacent to such landing, repeatedmovements thereof will not result in additional cars on the tracks 10being re leased, for the reason that the horns 1 1 are controlled fromthe rock shaft 36 and that no car can pass such horns until a cage hasdescended and operated the shaft 36, thus repeated movements of thehorns 15 cannot do any harm. Since the cages are interconnected and movein unison in opposite directions at any given time, the crank 28 willhave been released and the horns 15 returned to the wheel-engagingposition by the weighted lever 29 before the crank 37 is operated by theother cage. This feature is of particular utility in avoiding accidents,as where the cage operator has to make several efforts in order to bringthe ascending loaded cage to rest at the discharge level. Furthermore,by reason of the weights, the horns 15 and 35 are always automaticallyreturned to wheel-engaging position when the cranks 28 and 37 arereleased, upon upward movements of the cages, thus insuring greatersafety. as in case of failure of the horns 14: and S4 to functionproperly.

Referring now to Figs. 1-, 5 and 6, I show an arrangen'ient wherebycages and 51 may be caused to operate rock shafts 23 and 36 whendescending and while at some distance from the landings 12 and 13, sothat cars will be released from the horns 15 or 35 as the case may beand begin their rolling movement toward the cage before the cage reachesits car-receiving position at the landing, thus reducing the period oftime which the cages have to remain at the landings, since the cars willbe advancing during the latter part of the downward movement of thecages.

In this arrangement, the cranks 28 and 37 occupy slightly differentangular positions relative to their respective rock shafts so that theshafts will be rocked through horizontal movements of links 52 and 53which are operated by the cages as hereinafter described, instead of thecages engaging the cranks 28 and 37 directly as in the structure ofFig. 1. The inner end of the link 53 is connected to a crank 54 that issecured to a rock shaft 55. The shaft 55 is journaled in suitablehearings in the landing 13 and carries. a second crank 56. Avertically-extending link 57 is connected at its lower end to the crank56, and at its upper end has connection with a trip lever 58. The triplever 58 is pivotally mounted at 59 and is held in either its lowermostposition or its uppermost position, as indicated in Fig. 5, by fulllines and dotted lines respectively, by a tension spring 61. The outerend of the lever 58 is forked and extends alongside the cage 51 inposition to be engaged by an arm 62 that is secured to the side of thecage 51. hen the parts are in the position indicated by dotted lines inFig. 5, and the cage 51 descending, the forked end of the arm 58 will bemoved downward to full line position, thus raising the link 57 androcking the shaft 55 to pull the link 53 inward and rock the shaft 36 soas to move the horns 35 to release position, thus permitting a car toadvance from the horns 35 toward the cage while the cage is descendingfrom its dotted line position to its full line position. After a car haspassed onto the cage, the cage is moved upwardly, thus moving the forkedend of the trip lever 58 upward to its dotted line position, and therebyrotating the shaft 36 into position to move the horns 35 over the rails11 and returning the horns 14 (Fig. 1) to wheel-engaging position.Springs 64 and 65 serve to cushion the lever at its upper and lowermostpositions and the spring 61 yieldably maintains it in such positions andalso retains the rock shaft 36 in proper position. The spring 61 maysimply serve to insure that the trip lever 58 will remain in eitherextreme position for proper engagement with the arm 62 or may also serveto perform the function of the weighted lever 38 which may be dispensedwith in this arrangement, if des red. The arm 62 is preferably cushionedby springs 66 that are secured to the side of the cage to avoidexcessive shocks to said arm, and to allow limited yieldable movementthereof so that it can yield sufficiently to pass the forked end of thelever 58 in case such lever is prevented by some abnormal condition frommoving to either of its extreme positions.

The cage 50 acts through an arm 67, a trip lever 68 and connections to arock shaft 69, to operate the link 52 and the rock shaft 23 in a mannersimilar to that described in connection with the cage 51, so thatdetailed description of these operating connect-ions of the cage 50 arenot required.

In Fig. 7, I show a modification of the device of Figs. 4 to 6, whereinthe rock shaft 36 is operated through a link 71, a shaft 72, a link 73and a trip lever 74 that may be of an arrangement similar to the parts53, 55, 57 and 58 respectively of Fig. 5. In this form of device, Iemploy a weight 75 instead of the spring 61 of Fig. 5. The weightisconnected to a cable 76 that extends over a pulley 77 and is connectedto the lever 74 to hold the same in its raised or dotted lineposition,when the cage is raised, so that the forked end of the lever 74will be in position to be engaged by a roller 79 on the side of thecage. It will be understood that when the lever 74 is moved to itsuppermost position, the weight 75 will descend, maintaining the cable 76taut. A cushioning spring 81 is provided in position to be engaged bythe weight 75 when it descends.

The lever 74 carries a link 82 that at its lower end is connected toalever 83. The lever 83 is idle and moves with the lever 74. The link 82serves as a retaining member to hold the lever 74 in its lower positionwhile the cage is at the landing 13, since its ends are connected to thelevers 74 and 83, and such levers serve as strut members. Upon upwardmovement of the cage, the roller 79 will pass into the forked end of thelever 74, whereupon such lever will be moved upward through movement ofthe cage or by the weight 75, or other combined action, until it reachesdotted line position whereupon the cage will continue its travel and theweight 75 will hold the lever 74 in dotted line position ready forengagement with the roller 79 when the cage again descends.

For the purpose of moreclearly defining the invention in theaccompanying claims. I will designate the stops 15 and 35 as the mainstops and the stops 14 and 34 as the auxiliary stops.

I claim as my invention 1. Car feeding apparatus comprising, incombination with a pair of tracks, a rock shaft associated with eachtrack and movable independently of the other shaft, means for ef fectingoperation of each shaft by movement of a cage into car-receivingposition with respect to its associated track, a main stop horn directlyconnected to each of the shafts and movable to car-releasing positionupon said operation of its associated shaft, an auxiliary stop horn forretarding movement of cars along each track, and an operating connectionbetween each of said auxiliary horns and the rock shaft of the othertrack, arranged to effect movement of such horn to release position whenthe main horn of the other track is moved to released position. i

2. Car feeding apparatus comprising, in

iio

comhination with a pair of tracks, a rock shaft associated with eachtrack and movable independently of the other shaft, means for effectingoperation of each shaft by movement of a cage into: car-receivingposition with respect to its associated track, a main stop horn directlyconnected to each of the shafts and movable to car-releasing positionupon said operation of its associated shaft, an auxiliary stop horn forretarding movement of cars along each track, an operating connectionbetween each of said auxiliary horns and the rock shaft of the othertrack arranged to effect movement of such horn to release position whenthe main horn of the other track is moved to release position, and meansfor effecting"- movement of the main stop horn of each track tocar-engaging position upon movement of its associated cage toward a cardischarge station.

3. The combination with a pair of tracks and a cage for receiving carsfrom each track, of a main stop horn for each track, means for effectingmovement of each stop horn to. carreleasing position u on movement of acage toward car-receivingposition opposite its associated track anauxiliary stop horn associated with each track, means for effectingmovement of each auxiliary horn to car-1e leasing position when the mainhorn of the Other track is moved to ear-releasing position, and meansfor returning the main horn of each track to carengaging position uponmovement of the cages from their car-receiving positions the releasingmovement of the main stop horns being effected during move-. ment of thecage past a point removed from its car-receiving position.

4. The combination with a pair of tracks and a cage for receiving carsfrom each track, of a main stop horn associated with each track and anauxiliary stop horn for each track a connection between the main stophorn of each track and the auxiliary stop horn of the other track, foreffecting simultaneous operation of said connected horns independ Iently of the other horns, and means for cffecting operation of the mainhorns of each track upon movement of a cage toward carreceiving positionwith respect to such track to effect release of a car to the cage, thesaid operation taking place during movement of a cage past a pointremote from its car-receiving position.

5. Car feeding appa 'atus comprising, in combination with a pair oftracks, a rock shaft associated with each track and movableindependently of the other shaft, means for effecting selectiveoperation of the shafts a main stop horn directly connected to each ofthe shafts and movable to car-releasing position upon operation of itsassociated shaft, an auxiliary stop horn for retarding movement of carsalong ea h. track, and anoperatts ee e betwe c o aid xil ry horns andthe rock shaft of the other track, arranged to effect movement such hornto release position when the-main, horn of the other track is, moved to.released position.

In testimony whereof I, ,the said GEORGE M. JoHNsoN, have, hereunto setmy hand.

GEORGE. M. JOHNSON.

